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Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney & The Sound Machine were a ska-punk band originally from Commack, NY. They played an energetic mix of punk, ska, folk, emo, and rock. The core lineup consisted of Mike Vizzi (guitar/vocals), Craig Shay (bass/vocals), and CJ Dunaieff, along with a variety of horn players whose lineup varied between shows and releases, but primarily consisted of Ben Hennessy, Samson Flancbaum, Frank Ferro, and Lisa Grimaldi. In 2016, the final incarnation formed the Brooklyn-based punk/emo band Cold Wrecks. Biography Craig Shay and Mike Vizzi had played in bands together throughout high school, and after meeting drummer CJ Dunaieff at a Less Than Jake concert in June 2008, they recruited mutual friend Ben Hennessy (of Benny Fabulous) to play saxophone for them, and the four started working on new material together. By winter they had been joined by Chris, Samson, and Allie, and had fine-tuned a number of Craig and Vizzi's songs for the full band. In the summer of 2009, after the addition of Lisa, they began playing weekly around Long Island, and released a 5-track self-produced demo, Showtime, on August 29. The following summer, the band embarked on their first tour, going down and up the east coast with No Rights Reserved, and recorded their next EP, Taste the Fame. Around this time Allie and Chris left the band and Frank joined on Tenor Sax, releasing the three-song EP, Is The Irrelevant Act, the following January. Their first full-length, Mickey, was released in 2011. After relocating to Brooklyn and further touring of the northeast and midwest, they released their sophomore album, Reasons to Leave in 2014, produced by Jon Graber of The Homecoming Queens. Prior to the album's release, Lisa had left the group. The remaining horn players moved to various parts of the country, though remaining as official band members and performing together when possible. In their absence, they recruited multi-instrumentalist Matan Uchen on guitar and trombone, releasing the Tiny Refuge EP in October 2015. The four-piece lineup played Pouzza Fest in Montreal and The Fest in Gainesville that same year. In 2016, this lineup decided to retire Eli Whitney & the Sound Machine and started fresh as Cold Wrecks, releasing their debut album, Breaking that July. In 2017, they reunited for one final show featuring a lineup of Vizzi, Craig, CJ, Ben, Samson, Lisa, Frank, Matan, and Allie. Members *Mike Vizzi - Guitar, Lead Vocals (2008-2016) *Craig Shay - Bass, Lead Vocals (2008-2016) *CJ Dunaieff - Drums (2008-2016) *Ben Hennessy - Alto Sax, Vocals (2008-2016) *Samson Flancbaum - Trombone, Vocals (2008-2016) *Chris Quintero - Trumpet, Guitar (2008-2011) *Allie Duggan - Alto Sax, Tenor Sax (2008-2010) *Lisa Grimaldi - Alto Sax, Baritone Sax (2009-2012) *Frank Ferro - Tenor Sax (2010-2016) *Matan Uchen - Trombone, Guitar (2014-2016) Discography Studio Albums *''Mickey'' (23 November 2011) *''Reasons to Leave'' (1 August 2014) EPs and Demos *''Showtime'' (29 August 2009) *''Taste the Fame'' (6 August 2010) *''Is The Irrelevant Act'' (31 January 2011) *''Tiny Refuge'' (13 October 2015) *Later re-released as Cold Wrecks Related Projects *Cold Wrecks - Vizzi, Craig, CJ, and Matan (final Eli Lineup) *Freya Wilcox and the Howl - Craig (bass) & CJ (drums) *Binary Heart - CJ (drums) *Madaline - Samson (trombone) *Sketchy - Vizzi (guitar, vocals) and Craig (drums) *The Pandemics - CJ (drums), Chris Quintero (trumpet) *Pocketpool - Craig (drums) *Six Dicks - CJ (percussion) *Love is a Fist - CJ (drums) *Benny Fabulous - Ben (Alto/Soprano Sax, lead vocals) *The Spicy Getz - Samson (trombone) External Links *Eli Whitney on Bandcamp *Eli Whitney on Facebook *Eli Whitney on Tumblr *Eli Whitney on Twitter *Eli Whitney on Instagram *Eli Whitney on YouTube *Eli Whitney on Last.fm